Prayer text for Giỗ đầu at the grave

Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường). Exactly one year after the date of death, counted by the lunar calendar; the day before there is a lễ tiên thường (offering ahead of the main day)

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice
  • At the grave

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

Prayer text at the grave on the Giỗ đầu (first death anniversary) and Tiểu Tường (lesser auspicious rite), addressing the deities who govern the cemetery and this grave area; the descendants and relatives of the spirit present incense, flowers and offerings, remember the deceased, invite the spirit to witness and return to the family home to receive the rites, and ask the deities to keep the grave area solemn. It is read before the grave on the Giỗ đầu day.

The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.

Fill in before the rite

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Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

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Offerings and how the rite is done

Offerings, steps and things to avoid for Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường)

Other texts for Cúng giỗ đầu (first death-anniversary offering, Tiểu tường)

Collected text. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.

Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.